| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | K. Reinmuth |
| Discovery site | Heidelberg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 6 December 1925 |
| Designations | |
| (1063) Aquilegia | |
| Pronunciation | /ækwɪˈliːdʒ(i)ə/[2] |
Named after | Aquilegia(flowering plant)[3] |
| 1925 XA · 1948 EP 1956 SK · A906 KA A910 NC · A920 GB A923 CA | |
| main-belt · (inner) Flora[4] · background[5] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 111.49 yr (40,722 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.4058AU |
| Perihelion | 2.2223 AU |
| 2.3141 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0396 |
| 3.52yr (1,286 days) | |
| 243.41° | |
| 0° 16m 48s / day | |
| Inclination | 5.9729° |
| 95.327° | |
| 107.54° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 11.288±0.540 km[6] 17.32±3.18 km[7] 17.75±1.2 km[8] 18.93±0.37 km[9] |
| 5.79h[10] 5.792±0.001 h[11] | |
| 0.139±0.006[9] 0.1572±0.023[8] 0.19±0.10[7] 0.389±0.042[6] | |
| X[4][12] B–V = 0.850[1] U–B = 0.360[1] | |
| 11.04±0.30[12] · 11.32[7] · 11.38[1][4][6][8][9] · 11.51[10] | |
1063 Aquilegia, provisional designation1925 XA, is a backgroundasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 17 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 6 December 1925, by German astronomerKarl Reinmuth at theHeidelberg Observatory in southwest Germany.[13] The asteroid was named after the flowering plantAquilegia (columbine).[3]
Aquilegia is a non-family background asteroid when applying thehierarchical clustering method to itsproper orbital elements.[5] Based on more generic considerations, it has also been classified as a member of theFlora family (402), a giant asteroid family and the largest family of stony asteroids in the main-belt.[4]
It orbits the Sun in theinner asteroid belt at a distance of 2.2–2.4 AU once every 3 years and 6 months (1,286 days;semi-major axis of 2.31 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.04 and aninclination of 6° with respect to theecliptic.[1]
First observed asA906 KA at Heidelberg in May 1906, the body'sobservation arc begins with aprecovery taken in July 1907, more than 18 years prior to its official discovery observation.[13]
Aquilegia has been characterized as anX-type asteroid byPan-STARRS' photometric survey,[12] which indicates that it is indeed a background asteroid rather than a member of thestony Flora family.
In February 2004, a rotationallightcurve ofAquilegia was obtained from photometric observations by French amateur astronomerLaurent Bernasconi. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-definedrotation period of 5.792 hours with a high brightness variation of 0.75magnitude (U=3), indicative for a non-spherical shape.[11] Previous observations byRichard Binzel in May 1984 gave a similar period of 5.79 hours and an amplitude of 0.93 magnitude (U=2).[10]
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical SatelliteIRAS, the JapaneseAkari satellite and theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Aquilegia measures between 11.288 and 18.93 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.139 and 0.389.[6][7][8][9]
TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link adopts the results obtained by IRAS, that is, an albedo of 0.1572 and a diameter of 17.75 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 11.38.[4][8]
Thisminor planet was named after a genus offlowering plants of the buttercup family,Aquilegia, which is commonly known as "columbine". The official naming citation was mentioned inThe Names of the Minor Planets byPaul Herget in 1955 (H 101).[3]
Due to his many discoveries,Karl Reinmuth submitted a large list of 66 newly named asteroids in the early 1930s. The list covered his discoveries with numbers between(1009) and(1200). This list also contained a sequence of 28 asteroids, starting with1054 Forsytia, that were all named after plants, in particular flowering plants(also see list of minor planets named after animals and plants).[14]
